The Bibliobarn is located in South Kortright, a town nestled in the Castkill Mountains of upstate New York. The shop is housed in a restored horse-and-carriage barn and out back in a converted outhouse is the shop's bargain book section. Mark M. Rodgers, the man who built the structure, calls it a "bibliobiffy."Amazingly enough, this isn't the first poop palace that has been transformed into a book depository.Remember the Happy Tales Bookshop in Wisconsin? You know, the one were they converted an old manure storage tank into a retail space! If not, here's one from the archives, our post from...
Mumford & Sons Plays the Bookshop
With a name like Mumford & Sons you might be thinking law firm or publisher or perhaps an accounting or construction firm but no, Mumford & Sons is a group of literate twentysomethings out of London who play folk music and love books.In preparation for their upcoming tour the band played two gigs at used bookshops on Charing Cross Road! They shows, at Quinto and Any Amount of Books, are part of a campaign to save the endangered independent bookshop.Nearly half the songs on their upcoming album Sigh No More, are inspired by books. One song "Timshel", has its roots...
The Lowest Entry-Level Job In Journalism
Late summer through early December of 1969 was frightening to those of us up in Bel Air, the gated Los Angeles community for the financially fabulous. It was the dark season of the Manson Family homicides and paranoia ran high; the “Acid Is Groovy” murderers were still on the loose and appeared to be attracted to upper income neighborhoods.I would often drive, all alone in the middle of the night, on upper Bellagio, Somera, Mulholland, Sarbonne, Roscomare, Stradella, Linda Flora or any of the other narrow, serpentine roads I routinely traversed, through gothic fog so thick I crawled rather than...
The World’s Strongest Librarian
Never let it be said that all librarians are alike. Librarians come in all shapes and sizes, and both genders, too. And if when you hear the phrase "male librarian" you envision a bespectacled, 98-pound weakling, you might want to take that up with the man who calls himself "The World's Strongest Librarian." Then again, you might not.Josh Hanagarne is the director of a public library located in the Rose Park section of Salt Lake City, Utah. He does wear glasses. He is also 6 feet, 8 inches tall and his hobby is weightlifting. Serious weightlifting.In his office at the...
Jay Z Talks Books with Oprah
Photo by Ron Howard The October issue of O magazine, which hits the newsstands next week, features an interview with Jay Z.One of the topics covered in Oprah's interview is a look into Jay Z's reading life.Here are the 6 books featured in the slideshow; "Books That Made a Difference to Jay-Z" now up on the O Magazine website.The Seat of the Soul by Gary ZukavThe Celestine Prophecy by James RedfieldHomer's The OdysseyOutliers by Malcolm GladwellPurple Cow by Seth Godin andNigger by Dick GregoryEach includes commentary by Jay Z.Here's the "sneak peak" of the interviewPreviously on Book Patrol:Bill Maher's Gift...